Taking advantage of prime conditions, the Greencastle-Antrim girls’ track and field team made an early-season statement on Tuesday, convincing outperforming Shippensburg en route to a 117-33 Mid-Penn Colonial Division dual meet victory.

Despite solid contributions from several different standouts, the Blue Devils fell short on the boys’ side, 87-63, to split with Ship on the day.

“It was a great start for the girls and the guys put in some solid performances,” G-A head coach Devin McCauley said. “The kids were hungry to get after it and our depth really showed on the girls’ side. Not only did we win, but we had quality seconds and thirds as well.”

Serving as a versatile talent, Helm swept the jumps, winning the long, triple and high while crossing the line first in the 100 hurdles, posting a quality time of 16.80.

“Erica had a great day,” McCauley said. “It was the first time she had ever high jumped, so to go in and clear five feet was pretty impressive. She PR’d in the triple jump and her long jump was also really good, so just an all-around great outing.”

The 4x100 relay of Alicia Crider, Jordan Pizzarro, Kasey Sweitzer and Kierra Jackson also registered a blazing time of 50.80, with Pizzarro adding a win in the 100 while Sweitzer edged her teammate at the line in the 200.

As expected, the Blue Devils shined in the distance events, sweeping the top three places in both the 1,600 and 3,200, with Madison Hurley (1,600) and Schemel (3,200) emerging victorious.

G-A also received a boost in the throws, as Rachel Bartlett won the discus and shot put while Jasmin Wright posted a stellar mark of 110-03 to win the javelin.

Ally Rudy added a victory in the 300 hurdles with Andrea Hammer and Paige Johnson both clearing 8-0 to tie atop the pole vault.

“It’s hard to pinpoint individuals because there were so many good performances,” McCauley said. “Ship has a good girls’ team as well, which shows the type of day we had. We can be happy, but not satisfied, since we have some pretty big goals this year.”

For the boys, Joel Zola had a fantastic day in the jumps, winning both the long and triple while serving as the anchor of G-A’s victorious 4x100 relay team, accompanied by Devin Statler, Liam Okal and Jackson Hall.

Okal notched a sizzling time of 11.30 to claim the 100 while Hall contributed an individual win in the pole vault and a second-place finish to Zola in the long jump.

Nate Monn put in a gutsy effort to rally for the victory in the 800 with Campbell Parker (discus) and Kristian Sheeley (shot put) coming up big to win their respective throws.

“We had a lot of guys step up,” McCauley said. “We’re looking for a little more depth, but we understand its a work in progress and today provided us with something to build on.”

G-A returns to action next Tuesday at Gettysburg for a marquee Colonial Division meet.

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